Hometown Salute and Testimonial Dinner for * * * U. S. Sen. Gaylord Nelson Clear Lake Auditorium - Clear Lake, Wis. MONDAY, OCTOBER 2, 1967 Invocation - The Reverend Fr. Leonard Fraher Introduction of the Master of Ceremonies Attorney General Bronson Lafollette --­ William Ward, Co-chairm~~ Welcome - - - - - - Ma;~/'A1i~'Benson Welcome from Clear Lake School - Steven Nelson William Barthman Remarks - Assemblyman Harvey Dueholm Co-:a~J~~~ - Senator Gaylord Nelson * * 'RoA ~()MilA) Benediction The Reverend Kenneth Barnes --:~.; -# PHREY ---...-.. ONIAL DINNER OCTOBER 2, 1967 can't tell you what a great honor and a pri vi I ege it is to be speaking here in Clear Lake, Wisconsin -- a quiet and unassuming little community which is known far and wide as the home of one of the nat ion's most outstanding, most successful, most effective spitballers --cBurleigh Grimes. That is a fine bi II board you have erected at the outskirts to honor old Burleigh. Every community ought to have something to be proud of, and you here in Clear Lake certainly are fortunate in that respect. -2- It also is a pi easure to take part in a dinner which is largely a result of the efforts of one of Wisconsin•s outstanding elected officials-- Assemblyman ..Harvey Duehol~ I realize Harvey is so busy down in Madison these days that you Polk County people may not see much of him. You may not even have much of an opportunity ~ any more to hear Quehol m jokes. A ·= - 4 From talking to anot her Polk County politician (who I may get around to mentioning in a moment) I know (f(llf Harvey Due hoi m as one of the toughest and most determined spokesmen for the farmers.... of Wisconsin! I noticed on television a few months ago they had a fancy bill-signing ceremony in the Wisconsin State Capitol which I was told was of great significance to all the dairy farmers of Wisconsin. I didn•t see Harvey in the picture anywhere, and I asked my politician friend why Harvey Due hom -3- wasn't invited. He said, "Well, I understand they invited him, but Harvey ref used to appear wearing a yellow~u ~ As I say, I am glad to be in Clear Lake, and in Wisconsin, because you may remember there was a period there where I was flat teri ngl y ref--- erred------ to as - 11 Wisconsi n's third Senator." hi-starieat bact<ground. Well, Wisconsin as ) ----·--·----- -4- remember the great support I got fro many mbarked on a \ ' Bu w at { am getting at that this s tuat ion is causi n ~ me hear com pi a!nts that run along this lin They sa, "I realize ~. t .at in those days. ! But they l ..' Proxmi re tn 1957, and th solved the other. part of .} Gaylord Nels . n in 1962. So now ~ isconsi n ha two full- !edged, pr ~ressive-minded ~ h Senator ~ in the un· ed States Sen te -- a ~d yet, they '· I !l 1 still hf en't give · back Hubert Hump rey!~' :J f /Arvel I, J. I t between you and me, hope you never do. II I ~ ' ' No mal ter wh t titles I might acquire, 1 proud o be nown as the third Sen at or fr : Wisconsin. -5- 1And whenever Bill Proxmire and Gaylord Nelson need a little he I p, a little shoring up, a little free advice, I'm always glad to help. I to I d you that sooner or Iat er I would have-to get around to mentioning the other person on that Clear Lake '3J, llboard.t_ am sure you know I have always had an extra soft spot in my heart for Gaylord Nelson, going way back to when he was a young lawyer, fresh out of Polk Countyl and carrying on the liberal fight almost ;i'l alone in the Wisconsin State Senate.,(We had a fine relationship during his marvelously successful four years :s Governor of Wisconsin) and ~ it was a great moment for me personally when he came down to Was hi ngt on and took a seat in the United States Senate. ) _.pt J-...AS you know, Gaylord is known all acr nss the country as a crusading conservationist. -6- ~ must admit I was worried one day when saw Gay I ord worki ng at his seat in the Senate with a ~i g m!p and a crayon) \and I asked him what he was doi n~ (,He gave me his customary speech on the population explosion, and the spread of blight and ugliness, and the need for new park and recreation space. LHe said he had thought it all over and the only way that the people of Wisconsin would have adequate recreation ~ce in the future would be if we converted the entire state of Minnesota into a national park!l• LI suppose he figured, "With three Senators, we might just be able to swing it!" ., .,. ,. L._ Let me come to the point. You have in Gaylord Nelson a truly gifted and truly exceptional pub I ic servant, who has earned the respect and admiration of Americans, regard I ess of party and regard I ess of economic background, all <:: . -7- across this nation. ~aylord is one of a small handful of men of vision who are deep I y concerned about the 1Jual ity of life in America today../..!.e, more than anyone else 1 know) has taken up the challenge of using our mate~i al abundance to serve our deepest human needs for a safe ~nd satisfying envi ronmenJ free of need I ess waste, 1 free of poi son} free of want.._ ~And he has anot her quality which is every bit as important as humanistic vision -- he knows how to Q m 9.;1 ~h}~9~ d'!e·J In the rei ativel y short time he has been in the Senate he has significantly advanced both the cause of Wisconsin and the cause of the American 1 ..people. _[~ S -f7/-~) /_Everybody knows of Gay I ord' s great dedi cat ion to conservation, and everybody knows that dedication has produced act ion. (His Apostle Islands National LakesbQ[e bi 1!.. -8- warmly endorsed by both Preside~ Kennedy and Johnson, has passed the Senate and is ready for final act ion by the House. This will be the most important recreational project in Wisconsi n•s history .• I "l!',,..,.d,\~ '"' His proposal to preserve the St. Croix, arn_ekagon (/ and Wolf.. _ Rivers.... as a permanent part of a National Wild and Scenic Rivers system has also passed the Senate and is ready for final act ion by the House. ~s eagage of bi I!.:_ on wa~r and air pollutior:!_-­ the first comprehensive legi slat ive program ever · introduced to deal with those broad threats to our already environment -- ..is attracting...,. wide attention and is encouraging industry and government all along the line to speed up their efforts to eliminate pollution. ~ot the same kind of advance co~l iance from the soap and detergent industry when he introduced a bi II -9- which would require a changeover to a new kind of detergent chemicai .. LThe industry didn't even wait for it to pass -- they saw it coming and they changed over vol untari ly just to stay ahead of Sen at or Nelson. 0 ( But his effort to achieve a better life for all Americans is not limited to conservation.;; remember when Gaylord introduced his first bill to set national tire sat ety st andards.I.J.hen he introduced his bi II to give the Secretary of Commerce authority to ,.....set minimum- .... autom obi le sat et y standards .. ~ lot of peopl e :aid ;hey would never pass. But bet ore the year was out, both of these proposals, folded into the Administration's comprehensive traf fio.' sat et y legislation, passed both houses of the Congress unanimous! y . ... zHis Nat ion aI Teacher ~or ps program, ab I y supported by Senator Ted Kennedy and warm I y endorsed by President Johnson, stands today as one of the most creative of this • -10- decade's education programs-4 has already attracted many bright young people into teaching and provided extra manpower assistance to those disadvantaged schools which need it the most and can afford it the le~st. -c (Hi s bi II to est abl ish a Nation-wide Teacher Ai~e program, to bring housewives, young people and ..,..- - =. ... • 41111:: a - prospective teachers into the class room to he I p our teachers with their routine dutie) is attracting tremendous support. a L: We think it may very well pass the Jenat~ this session. !..,1 n nort ~ern Wisconsin and in the 20 other states where it is working, they tell me that the Nelson 7 Amendment to the poverty program is one of the most successf u I of all the various programs we have enacted in the War on PovertyL.r.his is the great program which puts unemployed older farmers and other job I ess adu Its -II- to work on bad I y needed co ervat ion, beautification and recreat ~n pr,g! eel s.• Qhey build parks, lh:[ improve *'""" .. .. forests,- they develop boat launching sites-- all of immediate value to the state and the community. L_, Here in Polk County you know of the fight Gaylord has been waging for the farmer, especially the dairy s / · farmer of Wi sconsi n, who has been caught in the ruth less squeeze between rising costs and falling prices .., ~ The whole nat ion is watching Senator Nelson's courageous investigation into the high prices of certain d -· prescript ion drugs -- and believe me, as a registered pharmacist, I appreciated his firm response when some of the manufacturers tried to pass the buck to the local harmacist.